It is often necessary to form a conical, tapered or similar shape on the end of an elongated member. In the past this has been done using rotating, arbor-type arrangements in which a cutting blade or blades are carried by a hollow, rotatable tool head within which the cutting blades are arranged so as to act upon an elongated member inserted thereinto. The rotating arbor design of a conventional pencil sharpener is an example of this broad type of apparatus. In such an apparatus, the elongated object is inserted into the rotatable arbor, usually during rotation of the arbor or just before the beginning of rotation, whereupon angled blades mounted upon the exterior of the arbor contact the end of the pencil and shave wood from the surface to form a point. The blades are usually held in place by threaded tension studs. In this type of apparatus, a scroll or strip of wood shavings is expelled from the side of the arbor as angled blades mounted upon the arbor contact the surface of the end of the pencil. While such an arrangement is relatively effective for shaving wood chips from a wooden member, whether in the form of a pencil or wooden dowel, such an arrangement is not particularly suitable for operating upon extremely hard objects, such as metal spikes and the like.
One form of metal spike or stud that frequently requires replacement or sharpening are the studs used in conjunction with snowmobile treads. Such studs are secured into the structure of the snowmobile tread for engagement with the snowy and, particularly, icy surfaces over which the snowmobile passes. Without the studs, the tread tends to slip upon such surfaces, thus considerably impeding the forward movement of the snowmobile. Even though these studs, which are customarily screwed into the tread structure, are considerably harder and tougher than snow and ice, because the studs are continuously exposed to abrasion from the constantly changing frozen surfaces over which the snowmobile travels, the studs are rather quickly worn back and lose their sharpness. Also, snowmobile studs are frequently exposed not only to consolidated and unconsolidated snow surfaces and icy surfaces, but also are exposed to ground or earth surfaces including rock surfaces where the snow and ice cover is relatively sparse or thin, or even entirely lacking.
In view of the abrasion and scouring to which the studs are exposed, snowmobile tread studs very rapidly become dull and must either be sharpened or replaced. Under poor snow conditions where the studs may frequently contact ground surfaces, the studs may wear out and require renewal every few days. Renewal is customarily accomplished by unscrewing the studs from the treads and replacing them with new or refurbished or reclaimed studs. Since it is difficult to collect and resharpen the removed studs, the replaced studs are customarily discarded when the new studs are screwed into the tread. However, in some instances the removed studs, and reinstalled in the tread as reclaimed studs.
Replacement of the entire stud is time-consuming and uneconomical, but no good alternative is available. There is therefore, a need for an easy method and means for sharpening snowmobile studs while the studs are still mounted in the snowmobile tread. Moreover, there is need for a tool to sharpen studs and elongated members in general.
Various prior tools for forming sharpened ends on elongated cylindrical and other members are available as described, hereafter, but none of these tools has provided a suitable arrangement for sharpening or resharpening snowmobile tread studs and the like while the studs remain.
Examples of prior art means for sharpening the ends of various types of elongated members are disclosed in the following U.S. patents, U.S. Pat. No. 828,632, issued Aug. 14, 1906 to I. W. Sprink, discloses a hollow milling cutter for thread cutting or general milling. The cutter is provided with a hollow central section surrounded by a generally solid outer section. Four radial grooves are provided in the sides of the head. These grooves accommodate flat tool bits which may slide radially in the slots. Each tool bit is provided with a projecting stud at the rear thereof which fits into an inclined camming slot in a circular plate having a knurled outer surface enabling the plate to be turned. When the knurled circular plate is turned, the studs at the rear of the tool bit are propelled inwardly or outwardly by the camming slots. There are no specific chip orifices except for the open end of the bit.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,368,459 issued Feb. 15, 1921 to J. E. Sheuman, discloses a cutter head having a series of sliding cutting tools which may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly by means of a screw adjustment. The inner ends of the cutting tools may be used to cut or form the outer surface of a cylindrical surface, and the outer ends of the cutting tools may be used to cut the inner side of a hollow cylindrical surface. A central shank is provided for mounting in the chuck of a power tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,688,558, issued Oct. 23, 1928 to O. Severson, discloses a hollow milling tool in which the cutting blades or bits are mounted in segmented sections that may be moved inwardly and outwardly. The blades are fitted into slots in the segmented sections. The cutting blades are essentially wedged into the slots, and there are no chip orifices provided adjacent the blades for the removal of chips.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,721,378, issued July 16, 1929 to G. J. Draeger, discloses a so-called floating tool holder wherein cutting blades or bits are pivotally mounted in the arms of a floating tool holder mounted, in the bottom and sides of a cylindrical bit by means of a set screw.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,526, issued Aug. 15, 1967 to C. P. Weiss, discloses a pipe scarfing tool in which a more or less conical, internally abrasive cone is mounted on the end of a hand drill. The scarfing tool is provided with a central rotatable mandrill to hold the pipe against the inclined inner abrasive surface. A series of shaving or chip orifices is provided at the bottom of the central opening of the tool to allow escape of chips and dust. No tool bits or cutters are shown since the scarfing of the pipe is accomplished by the abrasive internal surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,276, issued Nov. 18, 1980 to G. D. Meier, Jr., discloses an off-set dresser for dressing the ends of conical electrodes. A tool bit having a conical opening is mounted in a slot in a central tool bit having an outer retainer, nut or cover. The nut is threaded onto the chuck to hold the dressing blade in place. The end of the electrode which is to be dressed is inserted into a hole or orifice in the top of the nut so that it is dressed by the rotating tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,763, issued Oct. 20, 1981 to J. Cunniff, discloses a plug cutter for the shaping of wooden plugs. The plug cutter makes use of a series of upwardly extending blades mounted on the sides of a rotating chuck or holder. The blades may be angled at different upwardly extending angles by the use of shims so that a series of conical or cylindrical faces may be formed on the plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,328, issued May 22, 1984 to R. H. Gillett et al., discloses a honing tool for an exterior cylindrical surface. A honing stone is mounted on a pivoting arm which may be cambered inwardly by a sliding arrangement on an outer sheath. A series of honing stones may be used, each provided with a wedge for moving it radially inwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,503, issued Jan. 17, 1989 to B. M. Huju, discloses a tenon forming tool for the formation of tenons, particularly on the ends of fence rails. The tool is designed for use on the end of a hand drill and has a plurality of cutter blades mounted on a conical tool surface for shaving the ends of timber. Each cutting blade is mounted adjacent a chip orifice in the conical surface, and there are additional chip orifices at the bottom of the tool where the cylindrical portion of the tenon extends. The cutting blades are mounted by set screws on the interior surface of the conical portion of the tool adjacent the chip orifices. Consequently, the arrangement depends entirely on the strength of the set screws which secure the cutting blade to the conical surface of the tool. The fastening screws which fasten the blades to the surface are, placed in shear, which provides undesirable arrangement.
As pointed out above, there has been a need for a practical means for sharpening the ends of spikes, studs and other elongated metal members by a relatively simple and easy to use arrangement.